On April 19, 2017, Gov. Jim Justice signed West Virginia’s medical cannabis bill, SB 386, making West Virginia the 29th state to pass a medical cannabis law. The bill passed the Senate in a 28-6 vote , and it passed the House in a 76-24 vote.

Unfortunately, the rollout of the program has been delayed because of concerns about who will provide banking services to the state’s medical cannabis program and to medical cannabis businesses. Southern District U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart has exacerbated the problem by threatening to prosecute businesses that enter the medical cannabis space.

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In an effort to address these issues, in 2019, the legislature passed HB 2538, a bill that will allow credit unions to bid for the state’s account and will seek to protect state employees from potential prosecution. Gov. Justice signed this bill into law. 

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The legislature also passed HB 2079, a bill that would allow vertical integration of dispensaries and increase the number of dispensaries to 100. Gov. Justice vetoed this bill, but the legislature passed a similar bill, SB 1037, during special session in May, and Gov. Justice signed it on May 29, 2019.

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Unfortunately, West Virginia aw continues to prohibit patients from obtaining cannabis in its natural, flower form, driving up costs. A summary of the law, as amended in 2019, is here.

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An advisory board tasked with making policy recommendations began holding meetings in August 2017. It has already recommended allowing whole-plant cannabis. More information about the advisory board and the medical cannabis program can be found at the website for the Office of Medical Cannabis.